[Survey of e-book databases with emphasis on metadata]

Introduction: With the exponential growth of electronic resources on the Web, the application of metadata has enhanced the precision of retrieval and facilitated the search of electronic resources. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the metadata in e-book databases

Methods: This study is an applied work, which was carried through survey methods. The population consisted of 9 e-books databases, including Gale Virtual Reference Library, EBL - E-book Library, Credo Reference, MyiLibrary, Palgrave Connect, NetLibrary, Ebrary, Dawsonera, Taylor and Francis eBookstore which were selected by a intentional method. Data was collected from Academic Database Assessment Tool website [http: /adat.crl.edu], which compares databases from different perspectives, through direct observation. The obtained data was analyzed using 'Excel' software

Results: Results showed that metadata used in e-books databases, were as follows, MARC metadata [100 per cent], Onix [55.55 per cent], Dublin Core [11.11 per cent] were and UK Lom was not used in any of the databases

Conclusion: Results suggested that information specialists and database designers should consider applying appropriate metadata in developing e-book databases

[Survey of e-book databases status in terms of citation management tools application]

Introduction: Citation/Bibliographic management tools are used to facilitate research; management of information resources; citations to books, articles, and dissertations. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine ebook databases status in terms of citation management tools application

Methods: This study is an applied one performed in 2013, and was carried through survey methods. . Nine scientific databases have been selected using the targeted/intentional sampling method.. Data was collected from the relevant websites using Academic Database Assessment Tool [ADAT] [http: /adat.crl.edu] and through direct observation. The obtained data was analyzed using 'Excel' software

Results: Results revealed that Email, RefWorks, and Endnote are the most widely used in scientific databases with 78 per cent each. This is followed by Reference Manager, and ProCite, representing 34 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively

Conclusion: In order to enhance researchers' satisfaction with scientific databases in performing research, the application of citation managers, such as Reference Manager, ProCite, EndNote, RefWorks, BiblioExpress, and BiblioScape, should be seriously considered when designing scientific databases, specifically Persian ones

[Serum protein alterations in goats naturally infected with Babesia ovis]

This study was conducted to determine the electrophoretic pattern of serum protein in goats infected with Babesia ovis. Serum total protein was calculated and serum electrophoresis from 15 goats naturally infected with B. ovis as well as same number of healthy goats was performed. Microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained peripheral blood smears revealed B. ovis infection. The parasitological diagnosis was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assay by using a pair of B. ovis-specific primers. Mean values total protein and alpha and gama globulin fractions in infected goats were significantly higher [P<0.05] than those observed in the healthy group

[Evaluation of Consolida orientalis and Adonis vernalis extracts on eggs and larval of Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum and Rhipicephalus bursa]

Today, it has been revealed that some plants have active components with acaricidal properties, which they can be used as a promising alternative for the control of ticks and others arthropods. The main aim of this work was the evaluation of the effect of Consolida orientalis and Adonis vernalis extracts on eggs and larval stage of Rhipicephalus bursa and Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum. To determining the efficacy of plant extracts on eggs and larval stage of ticks, dipping method was used. Two extract suspensions with different concentrations [100%, 10% and 1%] were used. The number of hatched larvae was considered as a hatchability criterion and the immobility of larvae was considered as larval death. The plant extracts used in this study showed considerable acaricidal effects on treatment groups in comparison with control group [p < 0.05%]. The egg hatchability rate of R. bursa exposed to the highest concentrations of C. orientalis and A. vernalis extracts were 30% and 34% respectively, while the egg hatchability rate of H. anatolicum anatolicum exposed to the same concentrations of extracts was zero. The effects of different concentrations of extracts on larval stage of ticks were dose and time dependent. In light of LC[50] in different days, the anti-tick effect of C. orientalis extract on eggs and larval stage was higher than A. vernalis. The results indicated that the resistance of R. bursa to the extracts was more than H. anatolicum anatolicum

Novel in vitro efficiency of chitosan biomolecule against trichomonas gallinae

Development of new natural agents for parasitic diseases treatment has unexpectedly increased to overcome effectively against emergence and re-emergence of parasitic diseases, the appearance of drug resistant organisms and toxic side effects of current agents. The aim of the study was to evaluate antiprotozoal activities of chitosan biomolecule on trophozoites of Trichomonas gallinae. The antitrichomonal activity of various low molecular weight chitosan concentrations including 125, 250, 500 and 1250 micro g ml[-1] against T. gallinae trophozoites cultured in trypticaseyeast extract-maltose medium supplemented with heat-inactivated cold horse serum was evaluated in vitro. Samples containing medium without chitosan were also assayed as controls. The mortality rates at 0, 3 and 6 h post treatment with all concentrations were significantly different from control group [P<0.05]. Treated trophozoites showed more susceptibility to the highest concentration reaching mortality rate of 100% at 3h post inoculation. However, at this time, results for 125, 250 and 500 micro g ml[-1] were 93%, 95% and 96.7%, respectively. The results demonstrate that the application of chitosan biomolecule is a promising option for treatment of trichomoniasis in pigeons

Repellency effects of essential oils of myrtle [myrtus communis], marigold [Calendula officinalis] compared with DEET against anopheles stephensi on human volunteers

Malaria and leishmaniasis are two most significant parasitic diseases which are endemic in Iran. Over the past decades, interest in botanical repellents has increased as a result of safety to human. The comparative efficacy of essential oils of two native plants, myrtle [Myrtus communis] and marigold [Calendula officinalis] collected from natural habitats at southern Iran was compared with DEET as synthetic repellent against Anopheles stephensi on human subjects under laboratory condition. Essential oils from two species of native plants were obtained by Clevenger-type water distillation. The protection time of DEET, marigold and myrtle was assessed on human subject using screened cage method against An. stephensi. The effective dose of 50% essential oils of two latter species and DEET were determined by modified ASTM method. ED[50] and ED[90] values and related statistical parameters were calculated by probit analysis. The protection time of 50% essential oils of marigold and myrtle were respectively 2.15 and 4.36 hours compared to 6.23 hours for DEET 25%. The median effective dose [ED[50]] of 50% essential oils was 0.1105 and 0.6034 mg/cm[2] respectively in myrtle and marigold. The figure for DEET was 0.0023 mg/cm[2]. This study exhibited that the repellency of both botanical repellents was generally lower than DEET as a synthetic repellent. However the 50% essential oil of myrtle showed a moderate repellency effects compared to marigold against An. stephensi

[Study on gastrointestinal and external parasites of goats in west Azerbaijan Iran]

Parasitism is one of the major problems affecting goat's health. It causes a considerable economic loss in small ruminants of worldwide. The main objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal and external parasite infections in goats of North-West of Iran. In spite of the importance of goats in this region, there is no detailed quantitative study on prevalence of goat parasites. Fecal samples were collected from 403 goat for identification of gastrointestinal parasites and presence of external parasites. Seven different species of gastrointestinal parasites including Strongylida, Marshalagia, Nematodirus, Trichuris, Cystocoulus, Monizia and Fasciola, were identified in fecal samples. The number and percentage of infected goats for these parasites were 206 [51.11%] for Strongylida, 37 [9.18%] for Marshalagia, 12[2.97%] for Nematodirus, 58 [14.39%]for Trichuris 3 [0.7%] for Cystocoulus, 23[5.7%] for Monizia and 4[1%] for Fasciola. The number of eggs ranged from 3 to 172 eggs per gram of feces. A number of 112 samples [27.79%] were positive for Eimeria with oocysts number of 1-390 per gram of feces. It was also found that 12[3%], 203[50.4%] and 131[32.5%] of goats were infested by Sarcoptes scabeii, Damalinia caprae and Ripicephalus bursa, respectively. On each goat 1-5 hard ticks were found at different sites of their body. Results showed that intensity of gastrointestinal parasite infection of goats were low in the region therefore intensive parasitic treatment should not be recommended, It can be concluded that fecal examination should be considered before applying any parasitic treatment

Transcatheter coil embolization of coronary artery fistula

A 46-year-old man was admitted with chief complaint of chest pain and fatigue on exertion for the last 2 years. Physical examination was normal. Thransthoracic echocardiography showed mild right ventricular dilatation and ejection fraction of 50%. Coronary angiogram [CAG] was done that revealed significant lesion at mid part of left anterior descending artery [LAD] and a fistula arising from the mid part of LAD artery communicating with main pulmonary artery. Transcatheter coil embolism was successfully performed. The patient was free of symptoms during 12 months follow up

Assessment of stress resistance of industrial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for designing selection media

The two main methods for obtaining microbial strains with specific characteristics for application in the industry are isolation from natural sources and using random mutagenesis. Characterization of all isolated strains is very time-consuming and expensive. In this study the tolerance of some strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to different stresses was measured and the association between these stresses and tolerance to osmotic pressure and production of intracellular trehalose determined, aiming at applying the results to designing selection media. The viability [percent cell survival] of different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was assessed by exposure to a 3M Nacl solution, a 40% sorbitol solution, a freezing shock at -20°C, and a heat shock at 52°C. In addition, the intracellular accumulation of trehalose was determined by the antrone reagent. The associations between these factors and resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were then determined using statistical tests. Strong correlations were observed between resistance to NaCl- and sorbitol-introduced stress and strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [p<0.01]. There was also a strong association between intracellular trehalose accumulation and resistance to heat shock [p<0.01]. While sugars can not select osmotolerant cells, Nacl is a very strong selector for more specific isolation of more resistant cells in a suspension. Similarly, heat shock stress is very efficient in selecting cells with a higher intracellular trehalose accumulation in a suspension

Study of epidemiologic measures of association between giardia SP infection with occurrence of diarrhea in calves

This study was carried out to investigate the association between infection to Giardia sp. and occurrence of diarrhea in Urmia, Iran. Fecal samples were collected from 246 calves [34 diarrheic and 212 non-diarrheic] and examined for the presence of Giardia spp. cysts using a quantitative centrifugation concentration zinc sulfate flotation technique. Analysis of data showed that the relative frequency of infection to Giardia cysts is significantly [p < 0.001] more in diarrheic calves [35.3%] than in non-diarrheic ones [8%]. Epidemiologic measures of association, i.e., odds ratio, population odds ratio, attributable risk, attributable fraction, population attributable rate, population attributable fraction were 6.26, 1.42, 31.2, 3.7, and 0.27, respectively. The results would suggest that there is a significant association between infection Giardia spp. and occurrence of diarrhea in Urmia district. However, more studies are required to establish a cause-effect relationship

Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks of Urmia City, west Azerbaijan province Iran

The visceral larva migrans [VLM] is a syndrome observed in human infection with helminth larval eggs such as the Toxocara spp. that usually infects dogs and cats. Among the risk factors involved in the occurrence of VLM, particularly importance of these animal populations, an investigation was carried out for the presence of Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Samples were collected from total 26 existing public parks in Urmia from December 2003 to March 2004. Soil samples were collected from 3-4 distinct sites in the same area. The floating material was analyzed under the light microscope. Toxocara spp. eggs were found in 8 samples of total 102 taken samples from 26 public parks showed a contamination rate of 7.8%. The number of observed Toxacara eggs in each microscopic field was varied from 1-8. Low rate of contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in Urmia parks might be due to lower dog population and cultural differences of present study in this city in comparison of other cities of the world

Mutations in the PTEN/MMAC1 gene associated with Cowden disease and juvenile polyposis syndrome

In this study, we evaluated PTEN mutations in Cowden Disease and Juvenile Polyposis syndrome. PTEN mutations were detected, cancer and other phenotypes associated with each of these mutations were characterized and loss of wild type PTEN allele in the associated tumors was demonstrated. Out of 9 patients included in this study, 8 had Juvenile polyposis and 1 had Cowden syndrome. PTEN gene was evaluated by means of polymerase chain reaction, single strand conformation polymorphism [SSCP], Heteroduplex mobility assay [HMA] and direct DNA sequencing. According to the results of this research, nucleotide substitutions in PTEN gene were found in 22% [2/9] of patients. The samples were found to be heterozygote for the c.341T>G and c.389G>A mutations. One novel mutation c.341T>G in Iranian patients with Cowden syndrome was found in this study. The study of these rare patients could provide insight into PTEN driven tumorgenesis

citation analysis of specialty dissertations in Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences

Citation analysis is a branch of bibliometrics in which information needs of users of a particular library can be assessed and therefore it can be used as a tool in a library collection building. This study was conducted on cited references of specialty dissertations in order to determine the reference type, their half life and language. Citation analysis on all the 55 specialty dissertations submitted to Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences [HUMS] during 1997-2003 was conducted. Information on each cited reference, including reference type, date of publication, and language were recorded. The results were compared to the central library collection. As expected, English journals were the most heavily cited format: 57% of all citations were English journals articles followed closely by English textbooks with 25.08%. According to Bradford law core journals in this study were 4 titles out of 236 journals which accounted for more than 16% of cited references. Most cited references were in English [95.18%], and 4.19% of them were Persian. Overall, the half life of the cited references was 8 years. Lack of enough cited references in Persian may be due to the absence of Persian abstraction and indexing systems. By preparing a few numbers of journals, residents would have access to a large number of the articles that they need

Histopathological features of Ornithodoros lahorensis bite on rat

Besides of transmitting several diseases to animals, and tick paralysis, Ornithodoros lahorensis induce skin lesions. This experiment was done to determine histopathological features of adult O. lahorensis bite on rat. In this investigation adult male rats were infested with O. lahorensis ticks. Animals were divided into two groups and euthanized two days and two weeks after infestation. The skin samples were fixed in 10% buffer formal saline and processed and sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The lesions reflected the clinical and gross findings, with hyperemia, edema and vacuolation in the early stages, cellular infiltrations, principally lymphocyte accompanied vascular changes. Newly formed fibrous tissue with large number of hyperemic capillaries and active inflammatory process in which lymphocytes and eosinophils were the predominant cells, were seen after two weeks. Foci of necrosis in the epithelium with remnant of infiltration of polymorphonucular cells with sever hemorrhages were also evident. Vascular changes included prevascular infiltration of lymphocyte and fibrinoied ne'crosis on the vessel walls. This study well documented the different pathological changes of skin of rats with O. lahorensis

survey on cryptosporidial infection in horse in Urmia area, northwestern Iran

To investigate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in horses, a total of 221 faecal specimens were collected from 18 villages of Urmia, northwestern Iran. The samples were studied microscopically by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The cryptosporidial infection was found in the collected samples from 11 of 18 villages. Although the prevalence of the infection was 15.8%, none of the infected horses appeared clinically ill

[ study of effect bacteriocin producing Lactoco ccus lactis on Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus]

Dairy products often associated with problems such as short shelf life and poor hygiene control. A novel approach is to utilize bacteriocin or bacteriocin producer strains, to control undesirable micro flora as Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus in foods. Hence, we studied the effect of nisin like producing Lactococcus lactis against Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus, in order to compare the isolated strain within different countries. In this research we studied the effect of nisin like producing Lactococcus lactis, with producer spot test method. We also used supernatant from 24 h culture of Lactoccus lactis. Moreover, we studied the effect of bacteriocin on Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus growth curves. The growth of both strains was inhibited by the bacteriocin. According to our results, the bacteriocin could be used in liquid food with bacteriocin added directly or as a starter culture in fermentation. This would inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes; furthermore, Bacillus cereus is used to reduce food poisoning for fermented food products

Hyalomma aegyptium on spur-thighed tortoise [testudo graeca] in Urmia region west Azerbaijan, Iran

Ticks are obligate blood feeders that parasitize a wide variety of animals. Hyalomma aegyptium, parasitize tortoises and other small wild life and livestock. This study was carried out to determine spur-thighed tortoise [Testudo graeca] infestation to H. ageyptium in Urmia region West Azerbaijan of Iran. The study was carried out over a 16 month period from the spring of 2004 to the fall of 2005. A total of 32 tortoises were sampled. The results indicated that 14 tortoises infected with ticks. A total of 117 ticks were collected from infested animals, the minimum and maximum tick infestation was 1-60. Ticks were attached to the axilla of fore and hind legs of tortoises. All ticks were determined to be H. aegyptium. H. aegyptium was the most common tick species in the study area. Due to tendency of some people to keeping tortoise as pet animal, more attention must be done to tortoise's tick infestation. Due to existence of H. aegyptium on tortoises in this region more study will need to evaluate presence of this tick on other animal species and its role on transmission of diseases

Mesenteric lymph nodes infection with linguatula serrata nymphs in cattle

871 mesenteric lymph nodes taken from 110 native cattle from Urmia slaughter-house with different ages were examined for Linguatula serrata infection. The lymph nodes were studied based on their colour and consistency. 44% of the cattle were found positive for L. serrata infection. The number of parasites isolated from each infected lymph node varied from 1 to 69 with a mean of 5.48. There were no significant differences in the number of parasites in different age groups. The study underlined the need for a more thorough investigation of mesenteric lymph nodes inspection in the cattle of this region

[ evaluation of intradermal skin test to diagnosis of mesenteric lymph node infection to linguatula serrata nymphs in sheep]

To compare the skin responses of infected andnon-infected sheep with Linguatula serrata nymph.Experimental study.Thirty native sheep.The nymphs of Linguatula were collectedfrom mesenteric lymph nodes of slaughtered animals andthe protein of nymphs was extracted. The extracted proteinwas injected at the dose of 0.2 ml intra-dermopalpebrallyinto the skin of lower eyelid of sheep. A placebo wasinjected into the skin of contralateral eyelid. The skinreaction was evaluated 1 hour after injection. Infectionstatus of injected sheep was determined by demonstrationof Linguatula serrata nymphs in the mesenteric lymphnodes after slaughter as gold standard.Compute sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positiveandnegativepredictivevalues, likelihood ratio and kappa statistic of the intradermal skintest at a different cut off values.Ourcalculatedmeasuresofdiagnosticperformance of intradermal skin test of Linguatula serrate were lower than anticipated and those previously reported.Intradermal skin test can be used for detectionof non-infected sheep

[Identification of Babesia speices and tick infestation in sheep in Ardabil]

Distinguish of Babesia species and tick infestation in sheep in Ardabil. Cross sectional study. One hundred and eighty one sheep infected with Babesia. Blood smears obtained from sheep, stained with Geimsa and examined microscopically. Chi-squire test. The result indicated that out of 90 sheep infected with Babesia 78[43.09%], 2[1.1%] and 10[5.52%] were infected with B.ovis, B.motasi and mixed infection with B.motasi and B.ovis respectively. Rhipicephalus, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis and Hyalomma were isolated form sheep. This study shows that problems with Babesia in this region mainly related to B.ovis. The result also indicated that Rhipicephalus bursa was dominant vector of B.ovis in this region [P<0.05]